EC Cleaners Network · From Requirement to Evidence
TR19® Grease · Costs · Quotes · Reporting
TR19 Kitchen Extract Cleaning Costs & Certificate Evidence
How much should TR19® kitchen extract cleaning cost — and why can two quotations for the same kitchen be very different?
There is no reliable national fixed price for a commercial kitchen extract clean. Cost depends on the actual extraction route, grease condition, duct length, fan location, access, working environment, mobilisation requirements and the evidence expected afterwards. A quotation that covers only the visible canopy is not directly comparable with one covering the wider grease-extract system.
The certificate should not be the thing being priced. The physical system, work scope, access and evidence requirements determine the job.
Why quotations vary
The kitchen canopy is visible. Most of the cost drivers may not be.
Kitchen-extract quotations become difficult to compare when suppliers have priced different system boundaries or made different assumptions about access, contamination and reporting.
One quote stops at the canopy
Another may include the plenum, horizontal ductwork, riser, fan and discharge. Those are materially different scopes even if both are described as “TR19 cleaning”.
Access has not been established
Ceilings, risers, roof areas, missing access panels and landlord-controlled spaces can change both labour and enabling-work requirements.
Grease condition is unknown
A lightly contaminated system with a strong maintenance history may present a very different workload from heavily accumulated or long-neglected ductwork.
The reporting requirement is different
A basic attendance record is not the same commercial product as system-specific photographs, measurements where applicable, exclusions and formal completion evidence.
The main cost drivers
What actually changes the cost of TR19® Grease cleaning?
A strong quotation should explain the physical assumptions behind the price. These factors usually matter more than the size of the stainless-steel canopy visible from the kitchen.
System length & route
Long horizontal runs, vertical risers, multiple bends and complex routes generally require more time and access than a short direct extract to atmosphere.
Grease condition
The amount and type of accumulated grease can materially affect cleaning effort, methodology and time on site.
Access panels
Where ductwork cannot be reached adequately, new access may need to be surveyed, priced and installed rather than repeatedly excluding the same section.
Fan location
Roof-mounted, high-level or difficult-to-reach fans can require additional access planning, equipment, permits or landlord coordination.
Working hours
Night work, restricted shutdowns, weekend attendance and short kitchen-release windows can affect mobilisation and labour planning.
Building constraints
Shopping centres, schools, care homes, hotels and shared buildings can introduce permits, security, occupied areas and restricted equipment routes.
Reporting
System-specific photographs, measurements where applicable, exclusions, outstanding recommendations and formal evidence all need to be allowed for in the contractor’s scope.
What are you really buying?
A “TR19 certificate” should not be treated as a standalone commodity.
The meaningful commercial purchase is competent work on a defined extraction system, supported by appropriate reporting and evidence. Certification or notification may form part of that close-out where applicable, but it should relate to the physical work actually completed.
System
Which canopy, plenum, ductwork, riser, fan and discharge arrangement does the quotation actually cover?
Access
Has the supplier allowed for existing access points, missing access, roof work and high-level equipment?
Cleaning
What physical surfaces and components are included in the agreed work?
Evidence
What report, photographs, measurements, exclusions and certification or notification will be returned?
Different kitchens · different cost pressures
The operating environment can change the job as much as the ductwork.
These historic EC Cleaners archive environments illustrate why meaningful quotations need real system and site information. They are not current Search and Submit Ltd quotations or price benchmarks.
Restaurant mobilisation
Refit & reopening environment
A restaurant opening programme can compress the available cleaning window and require coordination with several other trades.
Existing extract route
Three Horseshoes · Brighton
An established extraction system involving ducting, fan and flue demonstrates why the downstream route matters to the quotation.
QSR & high-volume kitchens
High-use foodservice
Long cooking hours and high grease loading can create different inspection and maintenance requirements from a lightly used commercial kitchen.
Food production
Larger operating environments
Production sites can add permits, high-level equipment, restricted access routes and tightly controlled shutdown periods around specialist work.
Comparing quotations
Compare the written scope before comparing the total price.
The cheapest quotation may simply contain the most exclusions.
Before awarding work, put each contractor’s assumptions alongside the same system requirement. Differences in duct coverage, fan cleaning, access provision, reporting and working hours often explain substantial differences in price.
Canopy & plenum
Included, excluded or priced separately?
Ductwork
What length and route is assumed, and are vertical risers included?
Fan & discharge
Are downstream components included and can they actually be reached?
Access
Are access panels, roof access, MEWP or other enabling measures included or excluded?
Evidence
What photographs, report, measurements and certification or notification will be provided afterwards?
Pricing assumptions to avoid
Four shortcuts can make a cheap quotation expensive later.
Procurement works better when unknowns are surfaced before appointment rather than converted into exclusions after attendance.
“One canopy means a small job”
The downstream duct route and fan can be considerably more complex than the visible kitchen equipment suggests.
“The contractor will find a way in”
Missing access may require separate physical remediation and another attendance.
“Certificate included” means everything is covered
The certificate or report should be read against the actual physical scope and any recorded limitations.
“Annual clean” means the frequency is correct
Cleaning frequency should follow usage, grease loading, condition, applicable technical guidance and any relevant insurer or professional requirement.
Contractor & VHR checks
Check the contractor as carefully as the quotation.
BESA’s Vent Hygiene Register provides a direct way to check approved contractors and their relevant work category. EC does not award VHR status and should not substitute its own description for the official register.
Legal entity
Know which company is quoting, contracting and taking responsibility for the physical work.
Relevant competence
Kitchen grease-extract work requires capability appropriate to TR19® Grease rather than generic duct-cleaning experience alone.
Current register status
Where VHR status is specified, check the contractor directly against the official current register.
Access capability
Confirm whether the contractor can deal with the roof, high-level, riser or access conditions identified in the scope.
Reporting capability
Agree what usable close-out evidence will be produced before work starts.
Do not combine unrelated prices
TR19® Grease and TR19® Air should be quoted as different workstreams.
Kitchen grease extraction and general ventilation hygiene are no longer one interchangeable “TR19 duct-cleaning” service.
TR19® Grease addresses grease accumulation within commercial kitchen extraction. The March 2026 TR19® Air specification addresses internal cleanliness and hygiene management of general ventilation systems. A premises may need both, but contractors should define and price the systems separately.
TR19® Grease
Commercial kitchen grease-extract system and grease-related fire-risk management.
TR19® Air
General ventilation internal cleanliness and hygiene management.
Different system
Kitchen grease ductwork should not be priced as though it were ordinary general ventilation ductwork.
Different work category
Check that the contractor capability and any specified VHR category correspond to the actual work.
Different evidence
Reports and close-out should identify which specification and which system the work relates to.
Different environments · different mobilisation costs
The same duct length can produce a very different commercial job.
Restaurant, school, care-home, hotel, healthcare, QSR and food-production sites can impose completely different working windows, permits, access controls and hand-back requirements.
TR19® kitchen extract quote requirement
Want quotations that can actually be compared?
Send the site, reason for the work and whatever information already exists. EC can help organise the commercial requirement before suitable independent contractors assess and price the physical work.
Site
Premises address, sector and number of kitchen extraction systems or locations involved.
Trigger
Planned maintenance, insurer request, fire-risk action, report recommendation, opening, refit or another requirement.
Existing information
Previous reports, certificates, photographs, drawings or contractor quotations.
System
Known canopy, duct route, fan location, discharge arrangement and approximate system extent where available.
Access
Known inaccessible sections, roof restrictions, ceiling areas, risers, permits or high-level work.
Timescale
Required completion date, operational shutdown window or professional-review deadline.
Network operator
Search and Submit Ltd
Telephone
Role
Commercial requirement organisation · independent contractors provide technical quotations
UK coverage
Subject to requirement, geography and independent specialist availability
EC Cleaners Network is operated by Search and Submit Ltd. Search and Submit Ltd does not inspect, clean, test, survey, remediate or certify kitchen extraction or ventilation systems and does not set national TR19® cleaning prices.
Pricing is determined by independent appointed contractors following consideration of the system, contamination, access, operational conditions, scope and reporting required. Any prices or quotations should therefore be assessed against the work actually included rather than against a generic certificate price.
TR19® Grease and TR19® Air are separate BESA specifications. References to the Vent Hygiene Register are descriptive. EC Cleaners Network does not award VHR status, accredit contractors or imply BESA endorsement or affiliation.